


Undercover

by orphan_account



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Drama, Eventual Romance, Game Spoilers, JoshNeku, Multi, Spoilers, Teen Romance, nanaxkitty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-19 14:37:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2391965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn't long after the Game, and Neku is still working on practicing his new way of life. He's sure everything has returned to normal, but has it? What "new job" could Joshua have for him? .:PoV changes after the prologue. NeShiki in the prologue but will probably switch to JoshNeku later. Don't like, don't read.</p><p>DISCONTINUED</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undercover

Walking down the streets of Shibuya feels so natural nowadays. The only sound in my ears is the familiar techno beat, the rhythmic thump melding with my footsteps and creating the feel of my own little world. I've changed, yeah. But that doesn't mean I like the noise any more. It's too hard to stay sane in the Scramble Crossing without my headphones. A buzzing in my pocket calls my attention, and I pull off to the side and out of the way of foot-traffic to drag my phone out. ' _Looks like someone's calling me_.' Smiling, I tug my headphones off, letting my music mix with the noise of the world around me. An upbeat pop tune I don't recognize blares out of my phone and I can't help to roll my eyes with a laugh. ' _I swear, the day I let that girl touch my phone_...'

"Hey, Shiki, what's up?" I greet, leaning back against a pole while I talk to her. No sense getting in the way, right? Of course I'm already fairly sure what she's going to say, but the least I can do is ask. Humor her, you could say.

_"Are you coming?"_

Her voice is like music, cliche as that sounds, and I smile in spite of myself. "I am... 104, right?" I only ask to tease her. "I'm in the Scramble Crossing right now. Not too far away."

 _"That's great! Uh ... do you mind if Eri tags along? She, uh ..."_  
A small hesitation punctuates her voice, and I can faintly hear Eri in the background urging her to ask me.  
_"She wants to meet my 'knight in shining armor,' or something. I told her already you probably won't want that nickname, but—"_

"Of course she can," I reply before she can finish. I know she's still got a tendency to over think, even if she doesn't mean to. Old habits are hard to kill, and I know that best of all. I'm grinning and already planning my next taunt. "I ... just hope I can muster up the willpower to put up with her," I add, making sure I sound like I'm struggling just at the thought of it.

_"Omigosh, thank you so — Hey! Neku!"_

I can tell she knows I'm teasing, even before she giggles and goes back to cheering and thanking me, sharing the good news with Eri. I've only barely disconnected when someone roughly shoves me off balance, though ' _thank god_ ' I kept a grip on my phone. My headphones aren't so lucky, and they slip off my neck with the impact. Once I've recovered from the sudden jolt, I look up to find my headphones a few feet away from me. Just out of arm's reach but close enough that people can tell they belong to me (and step around them since they're so close to the owner). Not bothering to stand, I shuffle along the ground, my hand closing around them after a few moments.

But that's when some jackass decides to step on them and put a crack in one side. "Hey, what the hell is your freakin' problem?!" I snap, just about ready to hit something. "Get your freakin' foot off my headphones! Those aren't cheap!" I'm more than a little pissed off, and if this bastard doesn't get his (or her) ass away from me soon enough they'll learn not to mess with me real quick.

"You don't belong here," an eerily monotonous voice states, too familiar for me to ignore. However, I'm too unsettled by the whole thing to bother entertaining the thought... And I refuse to look up.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I mutter in response, my fist tightening around my headphones. Maybe if I can catch them off guard...

"You don't belong ... _in the RG_."

My eyes widen and I can feel my breath catch in my throat. ' _Is the street spinning, or is this just freaking me out?_ ' Almost against my better judgement, I follow the leg up to see who owns it. Before a face, my eyes find the barrel of a gun. "Damn it... Please, don't do this..." Dragging my eyes away from the object of my sudden terror, I look the man in the eyes. ' _Doesn't anyone see this?_ ' No one seems to notice, just walking around us in their haste. You'd think people would notice a gun a little more readily, but no ... seems this city is screwed if a mass murderer ever pulled a gun without warning. "You can't do this to me again..."

"Aw, but Neku, dear," Joshua purred, grinning too sadistically down the sights of his pistol, "Where would the fun be in that? Besides... I have a _very_ special job for you this time. Not that ... being my proxy last time was any _less_ important..." He turns his eyes away for a moment, looking thoughtful. However, he soon gives a very nonchalant, inelegant shrug. "Eh, I digress." Before I can move, his eyes are back on me. "Welcome back to the Game, Neku. _Have fun_."

That annoying laugh of his while he pulls the trigger is the last thing I hear before the gunshot, then everything goes black...


End file.
